Potter and Potter and Potter
by WolfWinks
Summary: A collection all about the Potter family over all generations (including Teddy Lupin because he's an honorary Potter). Written for 100 word prompt collection challenge. [1] Lily Luna Potter's birth
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** A Day Out and a New Life  
 **Summary:** Harry takes his family out during the school rush with dire consequences. **  
Pairing/Characters:** Harry/Ginny **  
Rating:** T  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for 100 word prompt collection (this whole collection is made for that collection) prompt: #14 life. Also written for Muggle Studies: Write about someone who suffers a traumatic child birth.

* * *

Diagon Alley was crowded this time of year. Being only ten days away from the start of Hogwarts, many parents and students were collecting the last of their necessities. Harry wasn't sure why they decided to go out as a family today of all days.

 _I only needed to pick up Hermione's birthday gift,_ Harry thought as he was shoved again. He had a tight grip of James' hand, and Albus was in his arms. He wished he could hold his pregnant wife as well, but he didn't have enough arms.

"Are you okay back there?"

Harry glared. "Fine," he huffed, hoisting his two year old higher up on his hip.

Ginny smiled and continued forward. Most people would move out of her way, her large belly clearing a path, but there were those few people that would accidently knock into her. Ginny wasn't letting it bother her, but Harry cringed every time it happened.

James tried to tug his hand out of Harry's hand, so Harry looked down to scold him. He was only looking away from Ginny for a second when a loud gasp ran through the crowd just before an ear-piercing scream. Harry seemed to move in slow motion. He turned his head up and stared at the woman he loved lying on the ground screaming with her arms wrapped around her stomach. His vision blurred, and he tried to move forward, but James tugging on his hand reminded him of his two boys.

Everything seemed to speed up after that as people rushed to help Ginny, and others crowded around him. Harry didn't acknowledge anything until he was guided to a portkey and whisked away to St. Mungo's.

* * *

"Harry!"

Harry didn't move towards the voice, but he felt his shoulders relax slightly at the familiar voice.

"Oh, Merlin. Harry, look at me."

Tilting his head up and pulling a sleeping Albus closer, Harry looked into the brown eyes of his best friend. "Hermione," he whispered. "You're here."

"Of course I'm here," she said, crossing her arms. "Where else would I be?"

Harry didn't bother answering. He turned his head away and buried his face into his son's hair. He made sure one hand was still in contact with James who was asleep on the seats next to him. "It was just a quick shopping trip," he mumbled into his son's hair. "It was meant to be easy."

"Oh, Harry." Hermione threw her arms around Harry, but he barely noticed.

Harry let a few tears leak out of his eyes, thankful that Albus was a deep sleeper and didn't notice the liquid dampening his head. "What happens if I lose them, Hermione?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by the healer entering.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry snapped his head up and stood. With gentle movements, he handed Albus to Hermione and approached the healer. "Yes? Are they okay?"

"Your wife is out of surgery; would you like to see her?"

Harry hesitated and turned to lock eyes with his best friend. When she nodded Harry was able to move forward knowing his boys were safe. "What about the baby?" Harry asked as they walked down the hall.

The healer tilted his head to look at him before turning his head forwards again. "Oh, my, I'm sorry. Did I not mention earlier?" When Harry shook his head and leaned forward expectantly, the man continued.

"Your little girl is in a stable condition, but she is being monitored closely. The damaged your wife's womb experienced placed the baby in a state of shock. As she was being removed, the shock was starting to affect her systems. Thankfully we were able to stabilise her condition, but she will need to stay admitted for a while."

Harry was grateful when the healer paused for breath. He not only almost lost his wife, but his child as well. Harry took a deep breath and then another. He couldn't help smiling, though. They were both going to be okay. _I have a little girl._

"Here we are," the healer said, interrupted Harry's thoughts.

Harry went to push the door open, but he turned to face the healer before entering. "She's okay, right? No complications?"

The healer smiled. "No complications, but she is going to be sore for a few days. She will also need to stay in the hospital for a few days to heal, but hopefully, by the time your wife is ready to leave, so will your daughter."

Harry finally let the wide smile appear on his face. He was practically jumping for joy. Hours ago he'd thought he'd lost everything, but now he was the father of a little girl, and his wife was just behind the door.

"Harry? Is that you hovering?"

Pushing open the door, Harry went to his wife. It may not have been the perfect birth, but it was no less memorable.

* * *

(w.c 820)

WolfWinks-xx-


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Discoveries  
 **Summary:** James and Albus stumble onto a scene they never wanted to see. **  
Pairing/Characters:** James/Lily/Albus (platonic) Lily/OC **  
Rating:** T  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for History of Magic: Write about a character who forces another character to keep a secret, or a character who is forced by another character to keep a secret.

* * *

Lily stared at her brother with her arms crossed over her dressing gown. "You don't have to like it," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "just don't tell Dad." She glanced back to the bed where a boy was kneeling with a bright red face and fiddling with his fingers.

"Don't tell Dad? How can I not?"

Albus paced behind James, clearly deep in thought about the situation, and if the small distressed sounds were any indicator, trying to come to terms with the new information.

James was more focused on suppressing his urge to strangle the boy on the bed, and failing if the fear the boy was showing was any indicator. James turned his eyes back to his sister, not even realising he'd turned away to glare at the boy again.

"Come on," Lily said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "I've kept your secrets, why can't you do the same for me?"

James opened his mouth to explain, but he realised he couldn't. Lily was always keeping his pranks a secret, and she'd never revealed anything, not even accidentally. _But this is different, isn't it?_

"Because you've suddenly started having _sex_ with a _boy_ when you're only _fifteen years old_!" Albus said from behind James, his voice at least an octave higher than normal.

James paled considerably at hearing the words out loud. He'd known after seeing his sister lying naked in bed with a boy what the truth was, but he _really_ didn't want to believe it. Still, he was glad that Albus said it so he didn't have to.

"What does my age have to do with this?" Lily stuck her nose in the air, and straightened her posture, trying to look taller. It didn't do much, but James would never tell her that.

"You're underage," James said, his voice coming out rough. "If he's older than you then it could be considered r-rape. You do know that, don't you?"

Lily's glare became venomous, and James took a step back without thinking. He flushed, and stepped forward again, determined not to let his little sister intimidate him, but when he heard Albus' badly muffled whimper he felt a little better.

"It's not rape, and I won't have you saying that about Ethan ever again, do you hear me?"

James nodded, but Albus seemed to be channelling James' Gryffindor tendencies because he just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"How long have you and _Ethan_ been together, anyway?"

James groaned when he heard the unspoken words. Lily, apparently, heard them as well.

"What, exactly, are you implying?" she said in a soft, deadly voice.

Albus opened his mouth, but James had no desire to be hexed by his sister, or the boy who was now glaring as well—apparently fury trumps fear.

"We're getting off topic. Dad has to know, Lily, as does Mum."

Something flickered in Lily's eyes, but it was gone too quickly for him to recognise.

"I want to tell them," she said. "Just don't tell them until I do, yeah?"

James hesitated, not wanting to keep something this big from his parents, but on the other hand, he knew that it would be better if Lily told them.

"If you don't," Lily said, her voice considerably lighter, and all the more terrifying. "I'll knock you out, tie you up, and invite all the students you've humiliated to throw rotten vegetables at you." When Lily smiled at him, he couldn't prevent a shiver running down his spine.

"Fine, I won't tell Dad, happy?"

"Very."

She turned her attention to Albus, but she didn't need to say anything.

"I won't tell either," he said, his voice still higher than normal.

"Good, now get lost."

James fled out the door, pausing only briefly to grab his brother and drag him out as well. "Honestly," James said when they were outside, "I could strangle you. Where's your Slytherin subtlety?"

"Um, James?" Albus said, apparently ignoring everything James was saying.

Turning to his brother, James' eyebrow rose when he saw the pale skin. He looked even worse than when they first walked into that room. "What?"

"We left Lily alone in a bedroom with her boyfriend."

In an instant, James skin matched his brother's. "Shit."

* * *

(w.c 708)

WolfWinks –xx-


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Brothers  
 **Summary:** Albus is saved by his brother, and he learns a few new things. **  
Pairing/Characters:** Albus and James Potter **  
Rating:** T  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Fairytales assignment 5: Write about a very strong bond between siblings. Bonus prompts: (emotion) love, (object) shirt.

* * *

The little boy continued to flee from the large ones chasing him. Albus didn't dare look behind him, knowing that the muggle children would catch him if he even stopped to breathe. _All because I have an odd name,_ Albus thought with bitterness.

He kept running, but a dip in the sidewalk had Albus falling flat on his face, skidding along the ground until a wall stopped his slide. His face stung, and his hands ached. There was liquid running down his nose, and when Albus was able to straighten his glasses, he spotted the bright red drops on the pale cement.

"Did you see that," a boy laughed from behind him.

Albus turned his head, flinching when he saw the three boys standing above him. He looked around, hoping that there was an adult nearby, but the area of the park he'd run into was abandoned. He was alone with the boys.

"Little princess, he is. Can't handle getting a little dirty, can you?" the largest one said, turning to him.

Albus didn't answer. He felt tears stinging his eyes, but he wouldn't allow them to fall. _You're ten years old now,_ Albus scolded himself. _No more crying._

"Aw, look, he's going to cry."

Albus sniffed, and he still didn't speak. He curled into himself, closed his eyes and waited. He knew what was to come, and he wasn't big enough, strong enough or brave enough to prevent it.

"Let's give him something to cry about."

Albus couldn't hold back a small whimper when he heard the footsteps approaching. The sound echoed through his mind.

"Get away from my brother!"

Albus' eyes flew open, and the footsteps halted. Standing behind the boys with his fists clenched was his brother like a superhero from the comics his cousin read. James' fists were clenched at his side, and he looked like he was about to pound the boys until they were the ones crying.

Apparently, the boys thought the same because they took one look at James and scattered away like startled birds.

Albus watched them go before turning his eyes back to James who looked like he was going to chase after them. Albus sniffled, and James turned to look at him. When Albus saw James' eyes widen, Albus couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

He curled back into a ball and buried his head into his knees. He didn't want his big strong brother to see him so weak.

"Hey, it's okay. They won't hurt you anymore."

Albus could hear James' feet approaching, and he couldn't help but remember the footsteps from earlier and flinch away. He heard his brother's breath catch, and guilt bloomed in his chest.

"Albus, please." James stopped walking, and Albus heard him take a deep breath. "You're h-hurt. We need to go home so Mum can fix you up."

Albus only hesitated a moment before he uncurled and tried to stand. His legs wouldn't support his weight, and before he knew it, he was in his brother's arm being carried towards the park exit.

"You're getting heavy, Al. What have you been eating?" James asked with a smile.

The joke fell flat when Albus turned his head away. His eyes itched, and his nose was running with no sign of stopping. He just wanted to go home and sleep, but James had other ideas because they stopped walking again, and James put him on the ground.

"Look at me," he said. "Albus, look at me."

When Albus refused, James placed his hands on either side of Albus' head and forced him to look up. Albus frowned at the actions and closed his eyes in a desperate effort to ignore his brother.

"Why won't you look at me?" James whispered.

Albus sniffled and rubbed his closed eyes with a fist. He hated hearing the sadness in his brother's voice, and he wasn't able to ignore him this time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Even his voice sounded weak, and Albus winced when he heard it.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I wasn't strong enough or brave enough. I couldn't stop them." Albus opened his eyes, but he didn't get a chance to see his brother's face before he was pulled into his brother's arms and held tight against his chest.

"They were bigger than you and older. You did everything you could, and I am so proud of you."

Albus shook his head and struggled in James' arms. "You weren't scared," Albus said when James refused to let him go. "You weren't scared, and you made them go away."

"You're wrong. I was scared."

Albus froze. "What?"

"I was so scared when I couldn't find you, and then when I saw those boys approaching you I was scared you were going to get hurt, and when I saw that you were already hurt. . ." James trailed off, and Albus pushed away to look at his brother. His twelve-year-old brother, his big, strong brother, had tears running down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Albus. I'm so sorry I let you get hurt."

Albus wasn't sure what to do. His big brother was older, but he was crying. He was strong than him, but his body shivered against Albus'. "It's not your fault," Albus said, patting James on the back.

"I'm meant to protect you," James said, pulling Albus close again. "I'm meant to protect you, and you got hurt."

Albus clenched his hands into James' shirt and cried with him. The soft fabric crinkled in his hands, and Albus suspected there would be creases later, but in that moment Albus didn't care. He needed to hold onto his brother just as much as his brother needed to hold onto him.

"I'm okay," Albus said once his tears and his brothers had calmed. His voice was still weak, but this time, he didn't care. "You saved me."

James nodded against his shoulder. "I did." He pulled back and a small smirk was on his lips. "I saved your life," he said with a grin that Albus recognised all too well.

Albus pushed away from James, accidently pushing James to the ground. "Don't exaggerate, you jerk."

James laughed and jumped to his feet. "It's true, I saved your life. You owe me."

Albus thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You're right, I do owe you."

"What?"

Albus looked up at his brother and smiled. "You may not have saved my life," Albus said with an eye roll, "but you did save me, so I owe you. What do you want?"

James stared at him with his mouth wide open for a moment before he snapped it shut and looked Albus dead in the eye. "Don't leave the house without me."

Albus blinked. It was his turn to be confused. "Don't leave. . . What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you ever leave the house during the break I want you to tell me, and I'll come with you."

Opening his mouth, Albus was going to argue, but one look at his brother's red-rimmed eyes and pinched mouth, had him shutting his own. "Oaky," he said. "I'll let you know when I want to leave."

"Thank you, Albus."

A smile on his lips, and lightness in his shoulders despite the pain that continued to radiate around his boy, Albus hugged James. "No, thank you."

* * *

(w.c 1,229)

WolfWinks –xx-


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Impossible Grief  
 **Summary:** Victoire is due any day, but an unexpected meeting sends everything spiralling out of control.  
 **Pairing/Characters:** Victoire/Teddy, Harry, Lily  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Warnings:** Major character death  
 **Notes:** Written for QLFC Round 12: TASK: Write a TRAGIC story about NEXT GEN CHARACTERS. Bonus prompts: N/A.  
Written for Ancient Runes: Write about somebody who's unable to stop before it becomes too late (you can interpret this however you want).

* * *

The Hogwarts Express stopped, and Lily Luna jumped out. Her family was waiting for her, waving at her, and she started to walk in their direction. She heard a small curse, then a laugh from behind her, and she rolled her eyes. _Those boys,_ she thought in fond exasperation. Her brothers didn't know the meaning of grace.

"Victoire!" Lily called when she spotted her cousin and honorary sister in law. She ignored her parents and ran straight to Victoire, who was standing with Teddy's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Lily heard Teddy's small huff and something about chopped liver when she ignored him in favour of his wife, but other than a small smirk, Lily didn't pay him any attention.

"Greet your parents," Victoire scolded, her stern voice betrayed by her smile. "They've missed you."

Lily rolled her eyes, glaring at Teddy when he laughed, but she complied. She backed up until her arms were wrapped around her mother's neck.

"Hi, Mum." She looked over her mum's shoulders and locked eyes with her father. "Hi, Dad. I've missed you both." Despite her words, Lily couldn't prevent her gaze from returning to her cousin.

Her dad chuckled behind her. "Go on," he said, waving his hand in Victoire's direction.

Lily's face lit up. "Thanks, Dad!" Lily tore herself from her mother's arms and barrelled into her dad. After a quick peck on his cheek and a small wave, Lily was back beside her cousin, staring at her stomach.

"Honestly, Lily," Victoire said with a small smile. "It's like you've never seen a pregnant woman before."

Smiling, Lily laid a small hand over Victoire's belly. "How much longer?"

"Not much." Victoire looked up at Teddy for a moment.

He smiled at her and brushed a finger against Victoire's neck where his hand lay. "A few weeks at most," Teddy said, turning his own eyes downwards.

Lily looked back at Victoire's belly, and Lily's hand laying over it. She smiled and rubbed her thumb in a circular motion. She couldn't wait.

* * *

Harry sat in the corner of his study. He kept his eyes on his godson as Teddy paced around the room. He constantly ran a hand through his hair, which continued to change colours to match his changing moods.

"I'm not ready," he said between shallow breaths. "I don't know how to be a father."

Teddy turned wild eyes to Harry, who smothered his smile to the best of his ability.

"How can I be a father?" he asked, but he didn't wait for an answer.

Harry sighed and pushed himself from his seat. He heard his joints groan and creak, and he once again wishing for the days when he could stand without the residual aches. "Teddy," he said, placing his hands over his godson's shoulders, stopping his movements. "You'll be amazing, there's no doubt about that."

Teddy may have stopped moving, but the wild, panicked look in his eye didn't disappear. "How can I be a good father when I grew up without mine?"

Harry's eyes softened. He moved his hand to the back of Teddy's neck and rubbed like he used to when Teddy was a child. "You'll do fine."

"How do you know?" Teddy leaned his head forward onto Harry's shoulder.

Harry wrapped his arms around his godson and chuckled under his breath. "I did alright, didn't I?"

* * *

Lily skipped along the streets of Diagon Alley with his cousin by her side. She flittered around the street, and looked into all the windows they passed, but she didn't stray far from Victoire.

"Are you sure you should be out this close to the due date?" Lily asked when she saw Victoire yawn.

"I'm fine," Victoire said with a smile and an eye roll.

Lily frowned at her for a moment, but in the end, she shrugged. "Okay, but I'm kinda hungry."

Victoire sent a small glare Lily's way, but Lily only smiled innocently in response. "Fine," Victoire said.

Lily smiled and turned on her heel, only to bump into a tall, broad-chested male. "Excuse me," she said, ducking her head in apology.

"You're Lily Potter, Harry Potter's daughter, right?"

Lily groaned and lifted her head. It wasn't unusual for the public to recognise her, but she was usually good at avoiding the fanatic ones that wanted to talk to her. When she looked at the man, she froze. He had a deranged, hungry look in his eye. His smile was cold, calculated, and cruel. Lily took a step back and felt Victoire's hand latch onto her wrist.

"We must be going," Victoire said. She could hear the sounds around her soften, and there was a tension in the air that hadn't been there before. Victoire tightened her fingers around Lily's wrist and took a step back, but it was like she had flicked a switch by moving.

The man pulled his wand and pointed it at the pair. He smiled and his mouth started to form words, but Victoire wasn't listening.

Victoire pulled Lily and threw her out of the path of the spell and to the ground. A loud thud sounded as Lily landed, but Victoire didn't notice as pain tore through her body. She screamed and wrapped her arms around her stomach as she crumbled to the ground.

People were screaming around them, and spells were flying. It only took seconds for the man to be contained, but neither Victoire nor Lily saw, as they both drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

"We're not sure. . . spell. . ."

". . .fallen. . . her head."

". . .didn't survive."

The white sheets and the slow rise of her chest distracted Teddy from everything. The healer's voice as he informed Harry what happened was barely a buzz in the back of his mind. No, it was only the bland white sheets that slowly lifted and fell with her every breath and the acute ache in his own chest that held his attention.

The door behind him opened slowly, and the footsteps that approached were hesitant.

"Teddy," Harry said. The agony in his voice was clear.

"What happened?" Teddy snapped. He didn't mean to, not really. He knew that Harry was suffering just as much, and he knew that it wasn't Harry's fault, but he couldn't control himself. He couldn't control anything, and he couldn't listen to the condolences right now. He just couldn't.

Harry stayed silent for a moment. He moved his hand to Teddy's shoulder, but Teddy shrugged him off. He didn't want to be touched right now.

Harry's breath hitched, and Teddy felt a twinge of guilt, but that quickly dissipated when Harry started to speak, his emotions suppressed, and voice monotone. Only a hint of grief snuck through the desperate walls he'd thrown up.

"A man—a relatively unknown follower of Voldemort who was never marked—came across the girls in Diagon Alley. According to witnesses, he was surprised when he recognised Lily but recovered quickly. . ." Harry paused to take a breath. "He fired a spell at Lily. Victoire was already holding her, so when the man cast, she yanked Lily away."

Teddy turned to look at Harry, and he saw the tears already marking his cheek. It was Teddy, this time, who reached out for Harry, and Harry who moved away from the comfort.

"Lily hit her head when she fell to the ground." Harry's breath hitched, and Teddy knew before Harry spoke what had happened. "She died on impact," Harry said, his body shuddering.

Teddy's heart received a sharp pain at hearing his sister's fate, especially after Victoire's efforts to protect her. "Harry—"

"Victoire was hit with the spell that was intended for Lily," Harry continued over Teddy's voice. He started to pace, running a hand through his hair.

Teddy spotted the way Harry's hand trembled and the tears that had yet to stop falling, and he recognised the avoidance tactics. It was hard to push the grief for his sister back, but Teddy knew Harry needed to grief alone for now. He swallowed, and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his focus was on Harry's words.

"The spell hit her. . . indirectly." Harry's shoulders slumped and he moved so that he was standing by Teddy again. He gripped onto Teddy's shoulder almost painfully, but neither moved away this time.

"Is that's why she's. . ." Teddy couldn't finish.

Victoire's body rested in silence on the bed. Her blonde hair spread over the pillow, her eyelids closed over her eyes. Her hands lay limp by her sides, and her beautiful flushed cheeks were an unnatural pale. Teddy couldn't bear to look lower than her slowly moving chest where her now flat stomach was.

"They didn't recognise the spell, but it weakened most of her organs. It's suspected that the spell was meant to cause multiple organ failures. She'll survive, but she'll have problems for the rest of her life. They can't heal all the damage."

Harry paused and let the information sink in. When he started to speak again, his forced calm broke, and his words turned into watery sobs. "The baby took most of the impact. He also died instantly."

"He?" Teddy's weak voice shattered something inside Harry, and he collapsed to his knees behind Teddy.

"Yes," Harry said, his voice matching Teddy's, "a boy."

Teddy leaned forward and placed his head on his wife's cold hand. He didn't let himself cry—he didn't think he'd be able to stop once he started—but the lump in his throat and the pressure on his chest was unmistakeable.

"I should have been with them." Teddy could hear tears in his voice despite the lack of tears falling.

"This isn't your fault, Teddy." Harry moved so he was kneeling beside Teddy instead of behind him. "The only person at fault is the bastard that did this."

Teddy glanced to the side and watched as the fury drained out of Harry, only to be replaced by the smothering grief and guilt. "His and mine," Harry said, looking directly at Teddy, revealing all his pain.

Teddy turned his eyes away again. He wanted to argue with Harry, tell him that it wasn't his fault, but there was a small part that agreed with Harry's words. The small voice whispering words of hate towards his godfather, and he couldn't silence it.

"Do you want to see him?" Harry asked after a long, stale silence. "You don't have to, but I thought you might want to say goodbye."

Teddy's hands clenched into his wife's sheets and his body trembled, but he nodded.

"Okay, I'll let the healer know." Harry stood and walked towards the door. Teddy listened as the door creaked open but paused before shutting again. "I'm so sorry, Teddy." Harry's voice was ruined, and Teddy felt the ache in his chest only increase.

The door shut, and Teddy was left alone with his unconscious wife. He sighed and tried to relax against the bed. "So am I," he whispered to the almost empty room.

* * *

The bundle was cold. Wrapped in blankets and curled in his arms, it was unnaturally cold. Teddy tried not to let the chill bother him, but with such a small, peaceful, pale face staring back at him, it was hard not to be bothered.

"Hi baby," he said with a small quiver in his voice. He brought a hand up to trace the delicate features of the child's face. His child's face.

"I know you probably can't hear me," Teddy said when he felt he could speak again," but I want to tell you this."

His breath rattled in his chest as he tried to force himself to breathe.

"I don't know what type of father I would have been, what I could have been." Teddy cleared his throat when a large lump formed. "I don't know if I'd—" Teddy broke off with a sob. He leaned forward, over the small, still body. "I would have loved you," he said, breaking into heaving sobs.

"I'm sorry." Over and over again he whispered the words that could never be enough. "I'm sorry." He rocked his body forward and backwards, letting the tears finally fall.

"Teddy?"

Snapping his head up, Teddy stared into the open, wide eyes of his wife. He felt joy and despair fill him in equal parts.

"Is that our baby?" Victoire said with a smile. Her voice was weak, dreamlike. He could tell she wasn't completely aware of what was happening, but when her joy-filled eyes locked on the small bundle in his arms, Teddy felt as cold as the baby in his arms.

Teddy's features crumbled. He looked away as his wife's eyes filled with horror. The sound of broken, frantic sobs filled the room. The sheets rustled, the bed rattled.

"No," she whispered. "No, please."

Teddy glances up, but he doesn't look into her eyes. "I'm sorr—"

"No!" Victoire wrapped her fingers into her hair and tugged. "No! No! No!" Victoire's voice turned to screams.

Healers and medi-wizards rushed into the room and Victoire fought them with everything she had. "No!" she screamed over and over.

Teddy stayed silent as he watched his wife break down in front of him. He could feel his own tears falling as the healers sedated her. His arms tightening around the small body in his arms and let his own tears fall once again.

* * *

(w.c 2,221)

WolfWinks -xx-


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Not Funny  
 **Summary:** James plans a prank, it fails. Albus gets teased, and his magic loses control. Lily just wanted a peaceful day, but she should have known better with brothers like hers. **  
Pairing/Characters:** James, Albus, Lily, Harry/Ginny **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Care of Magical Creatures #6: Write about a character who is utterly useless in a certain situation. Bonus prompt: James Sirius Potter.  
This was a lot longer than I planned. I had planned for it to end at the children, without James, cleaning, but my characters decided that wasn't enough of a story and they wanted to add a little more drama. I hope you enjoy the extra 1,000 words I never planned to add.

* * *

It wasn't funny. It wasn't. James snorted at the ground. Who was he kidding, it was hilarious.

"This isn't funny, James," Albus scolded next to him. Albus was most definitely not laughing, though he really should be considering the situation his brother was in. No, Albus was staring at the room in horror, his thoughts clearly displayed on his pale features.

James snorted again. "It is a little bit." James' voice was unnaturally high pitched, and Lily let out a small giggle before she could control herself.

"Lily," Albus scolded, turning to her with dismay.

"Sorry, but James is just too cute."

James scowled at that. He wasn't cute, he was manly and strong and handsome. He was _not_ cute. Sadly, as he looked at his pudgy hands and fat thighs, he could admit to himself that Lily had a point. In this state, anyone would be cute, even someone as manly as him.

"That's not the point!" It was Albus' voice this time that was pitched higher than normal, but for a completely different reason.

James rolled his eyes and climbed—yes, climbed. He was no longer tall enough to just _sit_ —on the arm chair. He saw his siblings flinch forward when he wobbled, almost falling back down, but he just shot them a smug smirk and climbed all the way without incident.

"Oh come on, Albie, live a little," he said once he was safely settled on the seat.

"Don't call me that," Albus growled, glaring at his brother.

"What?" James smirked again, tilting his chin up in the air. "Albie? Why not?"

Albus growled, stepping forward with his hands out, but Lily held him back.

"Stop," she said to him, no longer laughing. "This is what got us in this position in the first place."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to turn someone else into a toddler, now would you?"

"Me?" Albus shrieked, tearing himself from Lily's arm.

Lily shook her head behind him, glaring at James on the seat. "Or we could continue fighting," she muttered to herself. "That works too."

"This is all _your_ fault." Albus stalked towards the James

James shrunk back a little when Albus was standing over him with a fierce glare, his fists clenched. Albus was tall and angry. That was a bad combination. Very bad.

"If you hadn't been so annoying, and if you actually like the thirteen-year-old you are rather than a child, maybe I wouldn't have got mad and turned you into a child with accidental magic."

Silence descended on the room, with Albus' harsh breathing the only sound. Until, James laughed.

Albus groaned. "You're impossible," he said, turning back to the room and looking at the horrid mess. "How did this even _happen_?"

James snickered at the dismay in his brother's voice. He looked over the room which was once the dining room, and he had to admit that Albus had a point. The table was broken in about fifteen pieces, the chairs were stuck to the roof by their feet, and the portraits that had once been hanging on the walls were completely gone, leaving only a dark outline of dust where they once were. The worst part, though, was the paint that covered every inch of the room. Bright green just didn't seem to work for some reason.

James jumped to his feet on the chair that he was sitting on. It was the only this he didn't touch, not willing to hurt his father's favourite chair. "A prank," he said, his grin sheepish now. "Though, it didn't work how it was supposed to."

"You don't say," Albus said blandly.

"Come on," Lily said, grabbing a piece of the dining table and attempting to lift it. "Let's just clean up before Mum and Dad come home, then we can figure out what to do about baby James."

"I'm not a baby," James said, pouting. The look he received from both his younger siblings had him scowling.

"You could help." Albus looked at James who raised an eyebrow.

"How would you expect me to help? I am currently in the body of a three-year-old."

Albus blinked, and then huffed out an annoyed breath. "The one time his reason for his uselessness actually makes sense and it's him that made the mess in the first place."

Lily rolled her eyes and moved onto another piece of the table, unable to lift the first. "He always makes the mess."

"Do not," James whined.

He didn't get a verbal answer, but the looks he received—ones he was becoming intimately familiar with this afternoon—gave him all the answer he needed.

Lily lifted the piece of table above her head, but her arms wobbled. James and Albus watched in growing horror as she dropped the piece, knocking her to the ground as well.

"Lily!" they both called out together.

Albus raced over, moving the piece of wood from her body. James made his way off the chair, careful so he didn't fall and knock himself out, and raced over as well as fast as his stodgy legs could carry him.

"Do you know any healing spells, James?"

Panicked when he heard his brother's question, thinking the worse, James ran through the spells he knew. He ran a hand through his hair, but when he caught sight of the sausage like fingers, he realised he couldn't help even if he did know any spells.

"I can't. . . I can't do anything."

Albus turned to look at him, realising the same thing James did, before cursing as much as an eleven-year-old could.

"I'm fine," a soft voice said.

James ducked under Albus' arm and peered at his sister, who was groaning and rubbing her head. It was covered in blood, and as her hand moved, it spread the blood further over her face. It was still bleeding. Lily tried to push herself up, but James placed a hand on her shoulder to hold her down. She didn't even seem to notice, and Albus had to do the same to keep her from moving.

"Seriously, it's just a headache."

"You're not okay, and you're not going to move." Albus looked around but he couldn't see anything that would help them. He didn't have his wand—not that he knew how to use it yet—and James was completely useless in his state.

That's when they heard the lock click and the front door swing open. Albus and James smiled at each other. Their parents were home.

"It's awfully quiet, Harry. You don't think—"

"Mum! Dad!"

Their fear must have been in their voices because footsteps thudded down the hall at a quick pace until their father was appearing in the doorway with his wand raised. His jaw dropped open when he saw James, but he moved to Lily's side.

"Jam. . . Albus, hold her still."

Albus nodded, pressing down on his sister's shoulder gently, but firm enough to keep her still. James looked away in shame, wishing he could help.

"What on earth?"

Albus kept his eyes on Lily, but James looked up and saw the pale face of his mother looking between Lily, himself and the room as a whole.

"There." James turned to look back at Lily when he heard his father's voice. Albus was cleaning her face with a wet towel.

"Lily, are you okay?"

Lily nodded with a smile, making Albus scowl at her. "Not even a headache."

"That's good. So, now that I know everybody's unhurt, what on earth happened while we were gone?"

Albus looked at Lily, who looked back, and they both turned to James who was looking between the two with a small frown. Then, as if they planned it, they all started to talk at once.

"Albus wasn't able to control—"

"—I told him, but James said—"

"—and Lily didn't know."

"Whoa, hold up. We can't understand anything you lot are saying." Their dad was holding Lily's arms to her side, and had a slight smile on his face. Their mother was staring at them with fond exasperation.

"Long story short," Albus said with an annoyed glare. "It's all James fault."

"Is not!"

Their voice started up again, all merging into one and not making a little bit of sense. Their parents let it go on for another minute before their mother whistled; a sound loud enough to be heard by the neighbours.

Their dad scowled, muttering something about not being able to whistle like that, but James' attention quickly turned back to his mother, who was now glaring at them.

"I don't care whose fault it was. All I want to know right now is; why does James look like he's three years old again?"

Albus pinched his lips together and looked away. James sighed. "I was teasing Albus, and his accidental magic caused this," he said, waving his hand over his body.

Their mother stared for a moment, her glare still in place. That is, until their father snorted out a laugh.

"Harry!"

"What? It's funny. Our firstborn child is now our youngest child, thanks to our middle child." Their father chuckled again. "It's something that could only happen to a Potter child.

"Or a Weasley," their mother muttered, but she was now smiling.

James snorted, and that started Lily's giggles again. Albus scowled at the whole family.

"It's not funny," Albus whined. "What if he stays like this?"

"Don't worry, he won't." Their father helped Lily to her feet and guided her to the living room couch. "Now, you're going to sit down," he said, settling her on the couch. "And you." Their father walked to James and picked him up. He sighed. "I haven't been able to do this for years."

James struggled in his father's arms, but his father didn't loosen his grip.

"Gin, if you wouldn't mind."

James looked over at his mother who was smirking. "My pleasure." She waved her wand at the piece of wood that fell on Lily, turning into a play pen.

"Oh, no."

Their father smirked at him. "Oh yes. As you are currently a toddler, you get to spend your time in this. Your younger sister will baby sit you," their dad said with another chuckle.

James was placed in the play pen despite all his desperate struggled to avoid the thing. Lily laughed, lying on the couch and smiling at him. His mother hid her own smile behind his hand, and his father smirked down at him.

"Comfy?" he asked.

James scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at his smiling family before turning to Albus in the hope he would still see a scowl.

"Oh, now it's funny," Albus said with a wide grin.

James threw himself onto the ground and pouted. "No, it's not."

Albus just laughed, walking back into the dining room with his parents, and leaving James to be baby sat by his little sister. Yeah, this was no longer funny.

* * *

(w.c 1,840)

WolfWinks-xx-


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** No Way  
 **Summary:** Minerva went from mad to proud very quickly. **  
Pairing/Characters:** James, Albus, Fred, Minerva (platonic) **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** N/A

* * *

She was going to kill him. Minerva strode through the halls towards the Gryffindor common room with her lips pinched together and her hand clenched. She'd been leaving her office when some of her Gryffindor students—because they would always be hers despite her Headmistress status—walked past with the most ghastly of objects in their hands. If they'd even thought about using those things in her school she'd have been horrified.

After threats of detention—and a nice Minerva McGonagall glare—she'd managed to convince them to tell her how they got their hands on the objects. She should have known that the eldest Potter child would be behind it all.

Entering in the common room, Minerva was all ready to yell at her student when she saw him talking to his brother with his arms crossed.

"Come on, James, you gave them to everyone else." Albus was almost whining with his hand held out.

"No way."

Albus looked like he wanted to stomp his foot, but thankfully, he managed to hold the urge back. "Why not? You gave them to second years, so why can't I have one."

Minerva felt her rage return. Second years have no business having those things, they're only twelve for Merlin's sake.

James raised an eyebrow, glancing at Fred out of the corner of his eyes who was smirking at him. "I'm not giving my little brother permission to have sex."

"Actually, by giving me a condom, you're making sure I stay safe."

James growled and turned his back on his brother. "You're not allowed to have sex until you're twenty-one."

"What?" Albus spun James around so he could make sure James saw his glare. "You're not my father or my mother."

"True, but the children have to save themselves these days because the parents have no clue." James shook his head. "I'm just trying to save me."

Albus growled again, and his fists clenched. Minerva decided to intervene to prevent an all out brawl like the Christmas of 2024.

"Detention, Mr James Potter and Mr Fred Weasley." The three students turned around with pale faces. Minerva smirked inwardly at the wariness their features showed.

"We're just trying to make the students safe, Professor."

Minerva smirked for real this time. "Oh really? But didn't James just admit to giving the students permission to have sex by handing out the contraceptives."

James groaned, and Fred blinked a few times before turning a glare onto James. "You should have just giving him one," Fred said with a huff.

James turned and returned the glare. "My brother's not having sex until he's twenty-one. No exceptions."

"That's not your decision to make!" Albus pipped up, glaring at his brother.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Come on, boys, let's go."

The student's shoulders slumped and they followed Minerva out. Once the portrait shut, she faced James and smiled.

"Twenty points to Gryffindor for protecting one's family."

* * *

(w.c 486)

WolfWinks-xx-


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Sad Memories  
 **Summary:** Teddy has a nightmare, and Harry has one too. **  
Pairing/Characters:** Harry and Teddy **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Herbology Assignment: Instead of writing for a specific task this time, conjure something beautiful using words which creates a whirl of emotions in the reader's mind. (I tried my best)

* * *

The soft fabric crinkled under tense fingers. Dark hair splashed out, tossing with the movement of the person in the bed. Trembling limbs flinched under a cool breeze, lashing out at random intervals. Eyes pressed together like clam lips, frantic movement underneath the delicate skin of the eyelash. The spot beside the man was unusually empty, the usual occupant away for the weekend.

Inside the mind of the dark-haired man lying in a restless sleep, scenes played out. Memories the man only wished to forget flickered in front of him like a movie over and over and over and over.

" _Kill the spare."_

 _A flash of light, a mother's scream._

 _Fred Weasley's still silent body, his family surrounding him. Tears falling and falling. George's scream._

" _I must not tell lies"_

" _Here lies Dobby, a free elf."_

 _Green filling his vision._

Tears leaked out of closed eyes, soaking the pillow below. Dreams turned to memories and memories turned to nightmares. There was no one to wake him tonight. No one.

"No," Harry mumbled, flipping to his stomach. "Please, no."

Tight claws clamped around his head, cackling at his pain, his agony. White noise surrounded him; voices of the dead blaming him.

" _You should have killed him faster."_

" _Why did you make me take the cup?"_

" _It's your fault the marauders are gone."_

"Remus," he murmured, hands gripping onto his forearms, digging the nails into the soft flesh, drawing drops of red. "Sirius."

He didn't wake when the door of his room was pushed open and a beam of light fell over his eyes. He flinched away from the light, waving his hand in the movement for the shield charm. His eyes crinkled, and his lips pulled down. The tears fell faster.

The soft pitter patter of small feet approached the bed, small amber eyes stared with wonder at the tracks of tears, similar ones marring the chubby cheeks. A large grey wolf clutched to the child's chest, fingers wrapped around the soft fur almost hesitant to let go to wake the man in the bed.

The uncertain light and the shadows that covered the room convinced the child, and he placed a hand on the sweaty shoulder of the distressed man. The man jerked under the touch, flinching away, but his eyes opened. Somewhere in his mind, he recognised the touch of his godson.

"Teddy?" he whispered, rubbing a hand over his stained cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Teddy shifted under the scrutiny. Usually, he would tell his godfather that the darkness scared him and made his dreams scary, but tonight Harry looked like he did after a bad dream. The tears that still dripped out of his Godfather's eyes only worried him.

"Are you okay? Did you have a b-bad dream?" Teddy's five-year-old innocence was reflected in his voice, but Harry also heard the fear. He cursed, wishing his godson hadn't seen him in this state, but knowing there was nothing to do about it, Harry reached over and grabbed his wand.

" _Lumos_."

A white light filled the room, and Harry flinched at the brightness. He glanced around and shivered in the still uncertain light. He noticed Teddy standing by his bed with one sock on his foot, a dark black with green spots, shivering.

"Come here, Ted."

Teddy climbed on the bed, setting himself into Harry's crossed legs, wrapping his arms around his Godfather's neck. He ignored the sweaty skin and damp clothes, only inhaling the smell of safely and love.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Harry asked after Teddy's shaking started to still. Harry ran a hand up and down Teddy's back in an attempt to calm not only Teddy but himself as well.

Teddy nodded, snuggling closer to Harry. "Grandma," he whispered. "I saw her asleep and cold again."

Harry nodded, tightening his arms around his godson. He remembered the day Andromeda passed on. His godson's blotchy face and Andromeda's paper like skin. Cancer, they told him later. Harry couldn't care less about what killed her if he was brutally honest. He cared more about the fact that his five-year-old godson was the one to find her dead in her bed with blood leaking out of her mouth. It happened months ago, but he was still having horrific nightmares.

"Did you have a bad dream too, Harry?"

Feeling his blood run cold and his heart stop, Harry leaned back so he could look at his godson. Teddy seemed a lot calmer than before, and he was wearing an expression that Harry remembered on his face when Victorie fell over and scraped up her knees.

Teddy brought a hand up to Harry's face and stroked the dried tears that still stained his skin. His soft finger's brushing against Harry's skin, had tears reappearing in his eyes.

"In a way," Harry said, not wanting to concern his godson too much with his problems, but unwilling to lie to him. "See, I was remembering, but sometimes my memories are sad and I cry."

"Like with Grandma?" Teddy asked, his hand against Harry's cheek starting to shake.

Harry brought his own much larger and rougher hand up to cover Teddy's. The _lumos_ light illuminated the pale words carved into his skin, and Harry took a brief moment to close his eyes and breathe.

"Like with Grandma," Harry whispered after a moment. "Right now all you can remember are the sad memories, but one day you'll remember the good ones as well."

"Like when she pushed me on the swings?" Teddy tilted his head to look at Harry, still not removing his hand. He was no longer shaking, and there was almost a smile on his lips.

"Yeah, like that," Harry said with his own soft smile.

Teddy nodded, then his eyebrows creased together and he stared at his hand on Harry's cheek still being covered by the larger hand. Harry noticed the frown and pulled both his and Teddy's hand down to their lap, rubbing a soothing circle into the back of Teddy's hand.

"What is it?" Harry asked when Teddy's eyes just followed the hand down.

"When will you remember the good memories?"

Harry felt a rock sink deep into his stomach. He saw flashes of green, of red, of yellow. He saw the pale skin and still limps. He saw the gravestones and mounts of dirt. He could smell the musky sweat and metallic blood. He could feel the grime under his nails, and he could hear the screams.

"I remember the good ones," Harry assured, focusing back on his godson and forcing the tears back. "But I haven't forgotten the sad ones either." Harry took a deep breath and let go of his tears. Teddy needed to understand that his godfather wasn't in control all the time, even if it pained Harry to expose Teddy to the weaker side of himself. "It's okay to cry when remembering the sad memories."

Blinking, Teddy nodded and then snuggled close to Harry. Harry lay them down on the pale sheets and pulled Teddy on top of him, so his head was resting right over Harry's heart. It might be cheesy, but Harry knew that Teddy needed to hear the life that still ran through him. He needed reassurance, and Harry would give him that.

When tears dampened his pyjama shirt, Harry didn't comment. He only buried his wet face into Teddy's hair.

* * *

(w.c 1,231)

WolfWinks-xx-


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Three Times James Avoided it. . .  
 **Summary:** . . .and one time he didn't. **  
Pairing/Characters:** James/Lily and baby Harry **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Astronomy: Pick a moon and use the prompts in a story. Phobos - petrified, doomed, nowhere

* * *

The baby was crying. James froze in his movements towards his wife, and backed out of the room he just entered. He recognised that cry, and he didn't want to be around when that particular problem was solved.

"James! Can you change him, please?"

James silently ran into the living room, threw the cupboard door open and grabbed a broom—not the racing broom, the one Lily brought from her muggle home. Then, he lifted the couch so he looked busy when Lily walked it.

Lily sighed and went to change Harry "Never mind," she muttered as she left.

Once she was out of the room, James smiled. Crisis averted.

* * *

James liked sleeping in. Well, pretending to sleep in, and it had nothing to do with sleeping. No, James liked sleeping in because he knew the first person to get out of bed in the morning was the person that had to change Harry. He did _not_ want to change Harry. Not ever.

Lily huffed next to him, and James had to suppress a smirk. He knew Lily tried to wait for him to wake up in the morning, but she was a morning person. She couldn't bring herself to stay in bed later than eight, and James once slept until four in the afternoon.

She had no chance.

* * *

Cringing, James heard the unmistakable sound of Harry's 'dirty nappy' cry. He looked around the house but there wasn't a single object that caught his eye for Lily to deem him too busy for nappy duty. Panic set in when he heard Lily's footsteps descend down the stairs, the cried getting louder as she approached.

"James!"

Thinking he was doomed, James moved out of the living room and into his office in the desperate hope that he could delay the inevitable. When he entered, his breathing becoming fast in his panic, he spotted an envelope on his desk that hadn't been there yesterday. Feeling a smile creep onto his face, James grabbed the envelope and tore it open. Inside was paperwork that he'd been unable to complete before going into hiding.

"James! Where are you?"

Grabbing the top sheet and a quill, James buried his head and pretended to be absorbed in the work when Lily knocked on the door.

"James, can you please change him?"

James looked up with a faked furrow between his eyebrows and shook his head. "I'm sorry, this just came in and they need it back as soon as possible."

Lily glared at him, then the paperwork before huffing and disappearing back up the stairs muttering something inaudible. James sagged in relief in the chair. That was too close.

* * *

James woke to the sound of coughing. Concerned, he pulled himself out of bed and found Lily standing over baby Harry on the changing table with her head tilted to the side and a hand over her face, her other hand was holding Harry still while he squirmed. Her shoulders shook with her coughs.

"Lils, what's wrong?"

Lily jumped when he spoke, looking up at him. Her eyes held large bags under them, and her skin was a sickly white.

"Changing Harry," she said in a hoarse rasp.

James was already shaking his head, scooping Harry into his arms and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Go back to bed," he said, already leading her out of the room.

"No, I'm fine."

"You're not fine." Harry squirmed again in James' arms and James winced when his face started to scrunch up like he was going to cry. "Go to bed."

"Fine," Lily said as she stepped out of the door, but when James went to follow, she placed a hand on his chest. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um. . .nowhere?"

"Nowhere is right," she said with a small smirk. "Harry needs changing and I need to go to bed."

James froze in his movements, looking down at his son with wide, petrified eyes. "I don't. . . I mean, I'm sure you could. . ."

"Nope, sorry. Have fun, the morning ones are always the smelliest." Lily walked away, another cough forcing its way out of her lips.

James watched her until she closed the bedroom door, then he looked down at Harry and let out a soft whimper. Apparently, that sound was funny to baby Harry, and he giggled. James closed his eyes. "It's not funny." James walked to the changing table with stiff legs. "Not at all."

* * *

(w.c 747)

WolfWinks-xx-


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Secrets Create Anger  
 **Summary:** Lily finds out that her dad has other family members that she doesn't know about **  
Pairing/Characters:** Lily Luna/Harry (platonic) **  
Rating:** T  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Muggle Art: Futurism **:** Write about a character taking a risk despite being told not to.

* * *

It was just a throw away comment. There were a lot of those when the family got together for lunch (or breakfast or dinner). The adults all had a scary past, and when they talked about it, Lily tried not to pay attention. She didn't want to know about the war yet. This time was no different, except for an unfamiliar last name. She couldn't suppress her curiosity, and the words were pouring out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Who are the Dursleys?"

Her question—which she thought was very reasonable—shut the whole table up. Almost the whole family was around the table with the noticeable absence of Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and her mum and dad. She knew her mum and dad were still cooking, and Uncle Ron was probably trying to help (and ultimately failing) so Aunt Hermione was probably cleaning up his mess and keeping him out of Lily's parent's way.

Lily watched the adults exchange uneasy glances, and the children exchange confused ones. Even Victoria was looking confused, though Teddy's hair had changed from his typical turquoise to a dark red.

"I shouldn't have . . ." George trailed off, but then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They're . . . the Dursleys are your dad's family." He received a few glares, and Aunt Angelia slapped him on the arm.

"You know Harry doesn't want his children to know about _them_ ," she hissed, putting as much venom as she could into the last word.

Lily's temper flared. Her dad had more family, she had more family, and she didn't even know they existed. She ignored the unease of the adults and glanced at her brother's. James was frowning and Albus was biting his lip, but neither of them seemed angry which only infuriated her more.

"Why would he not tell us that we had more family?"

Uncle George cleared his throat, and Lily looked at him, begging him for an answer, but he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Please, just forget you ever heard of them."

Lily may only be eleven years old, but even she could see that they were all keeping something from her. She hated secrets.

"What aren't you telling me?" she yelled, jumping from her seat and completely ignoring her Uncle's request.

"Lily," James murmured, also standing from the table, but he was a lot calmer than she was. "Maybe Dad has a reason for not telling us. I think you should listen to Uncle George and forget about it."

"I can't!" She couldn't understand how James was so calm when their dad had kept this huge secret from them all these years and about blood relatives. "They're family, James!"

"They are _not_ family."

Lily anger disappeared for a moment in her shock. She never thought Teddy could sound so vicious. The shock didn't last long, and she could herself practically shaking in anger. "Why not? And how do you know who they are anyway?"

"I accidentally found out," Teddy mumbled, his hair starting to shape into long spikes with his anger, something she'd never seen him do before. "Listen to Uncle George, Lily. Believe me when I say you'll regret it if you don't."

Lily stared at Teddy with wide, hurt eyes. Teddy was the person she went to when she needed help. His refusal to help her now—because it was obvious he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject—hurt more than she thought it would. She felt betrayed.

With a frustrated huff, and tears forming in her eyes, Lily turned on heel and dashed inside, brushing passed Aunt Hermione as she carried food outside.

"What happened?" Lily heard her Aunt say before Lily threw her door shut with a satisfying thud.

* * *

Her bedroom door was pushed open a while later. Lily didn't look up, but she could smell the intoxicating scent of her dad's mini pizzas. Her favourite.

"Lily?"

Lily didn't turn at her dad's voice, but the smell was definitely tempting. _No,_ she thought to herself. _He lied to you and hid his family from you after all those lectures on how important family is. I won't look at him._

He sat down on the bed and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder, but Lily just shrugged it off. Her dad sighed, but he didn't try to touch her again. "I brought you something to eat. You must be hungry."

Lily shook her head, but otherwise didn't move. She couldn't eat anything right now even if she was hungry. She was too angry.

"I don't . . ." Her dad trailed off and sighed again. "I can't imagine what you're thinking, but I didn't tell you about my family for a good reason."

Lily huffed and clenched her hands into her bedding, but she didn't speak. She felt her dad shift around next to her and she could imagine him running a hand through his hair or along his legs. His eyes would be darting around the room, and his foot might be tapping, though she doubted the last one as she couldn't hear anything. Still, she knew her dad so well she could see him without looking at him. _Well, I thought I did anyway._

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He paused again, and Lily heard him take a deep breath. "What can I do to fix this?"

"Introduce me." Lily was as surprised as her dad was when she spoke, but once the words were out there, she realised that's what she really wanted. She wanted to meet the family she'd never known. She wanted to see them and talk to them and maybe they could become friends like she was with the rest of her family.

"No." The sharp tone startled Lily into turning over, and she saw her dad's pale face and his hands slightly shaking in his lap.

She sat up and ignored the obvious distress she was causing her dad to glare at him. "Why not?" she demanded.

"I won't. . . Lily, you don't know what they're like."

"And whose fault is that."

Her dad looked stricken at her words, and Lily felt a small pang of guilt in her chest, but she ignored it and glared.

"I want to meet them."

Despite the obvious pain this was causing him, Lily's dad's voice was as strong and sharp as the first time he denied her.

"No."

Lily felt herself start to shake with anger and her magic sizzling under her skin. She couldn't have controlled herself even if she wanted to. She really didn't want to.

"I hate you!" she screamed, placing her hands against his chest and shoving him as hard as she could. Her magic responded to her anger, and her dad flew off the bed and into the closed bedroom door. Lily's anger still bubbled and words came spewing out of her mouth like a volcano. "You always preach about how important family is, but you won't introduce me to part of mine. I hate you!"

Lily's chest heaved as she stared at her dad sitting on the ground with wide eyes. His hand was half way to his head, almost like he wanted to rub it but wasn't able to move it higher. He shook his head and closed his eyes. Lily's own eyes widened when she saw a tear slip down his cheek.

"Hate me if that makes you feel better, Lily, but I will not let you meet the Dursleys."

All guilt she may have been feeling vanished with his words. "Get out!"

Her dad stood and took a step forward, but an invisible force pushed him away again.

"Get out!" Lily screamed again, throwing a pillow at her dad. He left, leaving the plate of slowly cooling mini pizzas, and Lily felt strangely hollow.

* * *

The door didn't open again for hours, but when it did, Lily knew she was in trouble.

"Lily Luna Potter," her mum hissed. "How dare you treat your father like you have!"

"Me!" Lily turned and glared at her mum. "He's the one that kept this big secret."

"He was only trying to protect you," her mum said, stalking into the room and slamming the door shut as she entered. "And you threw him into a wall and told him you hated him."

"I just want to meet them!" Lily ignored the guilt again, though it was becoming harder.

"Well, you can't."

Lily glared and opened her mouth again to yell, but her mum beat her to it.

"They are not nice people, Lily! Your father grew up with them and they were so cruel." Her mum started to pace Lily's bedroom, and Lily could only watch with wide eyes and parted lips. "They treated him like their slave and they locked him away. He was never hugged or kissed goodnight. They starved him, overworked him and hurt him, but worst of all, they made sure he knew he wasn't loved there."

Her mum sighed and stopped pacing to sit next to Lily on the bed. "He wouldn't want me to tell you this," she said, her voice soft now. She grabbed Lily hand and started to trace pattern on the back of it. Lily wasn't sure if her mum was trying to comfort Lily or comfort herself.

"When I first met him, he was a shy, scared little boy. When your grandma hugged him for the first time, he had a panic attack. When I. . ." she trailed off when her voice broke, but she cleared her throat and started again. "When I told him I loved him, he told me that I couldn't because he was unlovable."

Lily's guilt was impossible to ignore now, and there were tears threatening to spill over, but she held them back. She felt like she had no right to cry.

"Teddy met them once, you know. About a year after he graduated Hogwarts."

Lily startled and she looked up from their connected hands.

"I'm not really sure what happened—neither of them will tell me—but I do know that Teddy didn't leave here for a month. A whole month, and he stayed near your dad the whole time." Her mum fell silent and Lily couldn't hold herself back, but she still refused to cry.

"What have I done?" Lily whispered. She thought back to her father's devastated look. The tear that she chose to ignore at the time and the way his hands shook as he left her room. "He probably hates me," she muttered, burying her head into her mum's shoulder.

"Oh darling, he doesn't hate you. He loved you, but that's what makes your words hurt so much." Her mum started to stroke her hair, and Lily soaked up the comfort.

"Where—"

"He's in his office working."

Lily pulled away to stare at her mum, who only smiled. Lily smiled back after a moment and threw her arms around her mum's neck. "Thanks Mum."

* * *

Lily stood outside the door to her father's office far longer than she should have. When she finally worked up the nerve to knock, she was shaking badly.

"Come in," her dad's voice called out.

Lily felt another stab of guilt when she heard the almost defeated tone. She pushed the door open and padded into the room. Her dad was bent over some paperwork, but it only took a moment for him to put it down and turn to face her.

"Lily?" His voice was hesitant and unsure, but there was a concerned shine to his eye when he caught sight of her shaking frame. "Are you okay?"

Lily's resolve to not cry shattered in that moment. Lily had hurt him so badly, but the first thing her dad asks is if she's okay. She throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into his neck. Her words spilled from her lips in an unintelligible mess.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have . . . and I didn't know. You don't have to . . . I trust you to not. . . I can't imagine. Please don't be mad. . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love you."

"Lily, hey, slow down."

Lily pulled her head away and stared at her dad. She wanted to make sure she was being honest and so she didn't let him look away.

"I love you. I love you so much, Dad. I don't want you to ever think I don't love you. I don't hate you, I promise. I love you."

Her dad's eyes softened and he pulled her close again. "I love you too, sweetie. I'm sorry—"

"Don't say sorry!" she said, pulling away again. When she saw the startled look, she but her lip but continued to speak. "You were trying to protect me, I know that now. You don't have anything to apologise for."

"Maybe I should have told—"

"No!" Lily glared at her dad and raised a finger to poke him in the nose. "You did the right thing, only I should be sorry. If you try to apologise again, you're . . ." Lily hesitated, but then a wide smile spread across her features. "You're grounded."

Her dad raised an eyebrow, and then moved his head to press a kiss on the tip of Lily's finger. "I thought the parent grounded the child not the other way around."

Lily giggled and wrapped her arms around her dad again. "IF the parent needs a grounding them they need a grounding."

"Well," he dad chuckled, "I can't argue with that logic."

The pair fell into silence, hugging each other. Lily laid her head on her dad's shoulder and closed her eyes, a smile still on her lips.

"I love you so much, dad," she whispered, wanting to make sure he knew.

"I know. I love you too."

Somehow, Lily knew her dad was telling the truth.

* * *

(w.c 2,341)

WolfWinks-xx-


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Jealous Protection  
 **Summary:** Scorpius just wanted to go on his date, but nothing happens normally in the Potter household. **  
Pairing/Characters:** Scorpius/Albus and Lily **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Astronomy: Write about a brother who jealously protects his sibling(s) from suitors. (I used a sister, though...)

* * *

The door slamming shut told Scorpius all he needed to know. James was warning Albus to be careful. Again.

"You might be waiting a while," Lily Potter said from the couch. She was flicking through Witch Weekly like she couldn't care less that her older brother's date was standing in the entry way, but Scorpius knew better.

He'd heard the stories from Albus' exes.

"Where are you taking him?"

Scorpius suppressed the urge to gulp. He knew better than to show her fear, even if it was the terror of the Potters. "To the new Italian restaurant that opened in Hogsmead." Scorpius was impressed that his voice remained steady as he spoke.

"Really? I heard that was expensive." Lily flicked to another page but her eyes remained staring at the same spot.

"I can afford it," he said with a wave, dismissing the concern. He had a lot of money to spend thanks to his inheritance and he wanted to spend it on Albus. He was worth it.

"Yes, but can Albus? He doesn't like to spend lots of money, you know." Lily's lips twitched and Scorpius could almost see her smirking.

"Well, I was going to pay," Scorpius smoothly stated.

Lily's fingers tightened around her magazine, slightly crinkling the pages and making Scorpius tense. What had he said wrong?

"Albus doesn't like charity either."

"It's not charity. I'm just trying to be a gentleman." Scorpius could detect some nerves in his voice, so he cleared his throat and shifted on the spot. He hoped the movement looked natural.

"He's not a girl either, you know." Lily's fingers were starting to turn white and Scorpius frowned in concern. Something was going on here that he didn't understand, something more than a sister protecting her older brother.

"I know that," Scorpius said, keeping his voice calm to hold off the inevitable angry outburst. He hoped Albus came down the stairs before it happened. _Not that I'm scared. Not really, anyway._

Lily threw her magazine on the couch before turning to face Scorpius, her face reddening. "What then? Are you going to take Albus somewhere else?"

"It depends on the time," Scorpius said, shrugging. "If it's late I'll bring him home but if it's still early than we might go for a walk."

"Are you going to kiss him goodnight?"

"If he wants to."

"Will you yell at him?"

"No."

"Ask him invasive questions?"

"No."

"Order for him."

"No, I don't know him well enough yet."

Lily was panting by not, her eyes darting around. Scorpius was worried now. Something about this date was scaring her and his answers seemed to have the opposite affect than they should have. Instead of looking happy that her brother was going out with someone who would act like a gentleman, she looked annoyed about that exact same thing.

"Lily, is everything okay?"

Scorpius watched, horrified, as Lily's eyes watered and she started to sniffle. "No!" she yelled at him, stepping forward just as Albus appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Lily? Scorpius? Is everything okay?" Albus looked between Scorpius and Lily, frowning. Scorpius couldn't help but wonder if his date was over before it even started.

"No!" Lily wailed again. "He's going to take you away from me and I can't do anything to stop it!" Lily collapsed back on the couch and sobbed into her hands. "He's perfect," she moaned, the sound muffled in her hands. "Perfect."

Scorpius couldn't help the warm glow at her words, even as his concern grew.

"Lils," Albus said, shooting an apologetic look at Scorpius. Scorpius waved it away. It didn't matter to him if they were late, as long as everything was okay between Albus and his sister.

"Go on your date, Albus. I'll be fine here on my own."

Thinking of James upstairs and her parents cooking dinner, Albus couldn't help but think she wouldn't be completely alone. He knew better than to voice his opinion, though.

"Lils, I'm not leaving you alone. You'll always be my favourite little sister, and I'll always be here for you."

Lily sniffled, but she turned her head to look at Albus. "But Rosie told Hugo that he wasn't as important as her boyfriend that she had one. You're going to be the same as her."

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius smiled when he realised Albus copied his action. Rose was a smart and kind girl, but sometimes her temper controlled her and she said things she shouldn't. It would usually be fine, but her pride made it so she never apologises when she's wrong. It caused some spectacular blows between the friends before, and apparently was even able to affect situations that didn't even involve her.

"I'm not Rose," Albus said instead of trying to convince Lily that Rose didn't mean it. There would be time for that later. "I will always care about you, and you always come first, even when I'm married."

"Promise?"

Albus smiled and squeezed Lily's hand. "I promise."

Lily stared at Albus for a moment before turning to Scorpius and pinning him to the ground with her best glare. "You won't take him from me."

"Never," Scorpius said without any hesitation. He widened his eyes and made a concious effort to look as innocent and sincere as possible. He never wanted to take Albus away from his family, and he wanted Lily to not doubt that.

After staring for almost three whole minutes without blinking (Scorpius' eye was starting to twitch), she nodded. "Okay, you can stay."

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, but his relief was short lived.

"But I'll be watching you." Her voice was firm and unforgiving, and Scorpius couldn't hide his nervous swallow this time.

Lily was scary, and he wasn't afraid to admit it, but Albus' stifled laughter did _not_ help.

* * *

(w.c 975)

WolfWinks-xx-


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Second Chances  
 **Summary:** Lily finds an injured puppy outside her home and is determined to keep him. **  
Pairing/Characters:** Lily Luna, Ginny, James Sirius, Harry, Albus Severus Potter **  
Rating:** K  
 **Warnings** : N/A **  
Notes:** Written for Sam (HP Slash Luv)

* * *

The day was cold, but Lily was outside anyway. It was the day after Christmas, and Lily wanted to enjoy the fresh air. Her brothers might think she's insane, but the snow made her smile. She loved it when the wind and frost brushed her hair away from her face. It made her feel alive.

She wasn't far from her house, and she didn't plan on going any further either. Her dad always worried about them leaving the perimeter, and she was only seven after all. No other seven year old was allowed to go for a walk without an adult, but that didn't change the fact that Lily wanted to wander.

It may be too cold for the rest of her family, particularly her brothers and mum (she took after her dad in a lot of ways), but not her.

Lily eyed the gate, wondering if she would manage to sneak out of it for just a few moments, but she shook her head. She knew that wouldn't be possible; her dad definitely charmed the gate to alert him to any guests, but Lily wouldn't be surprised if he'd charmed it the other way as well.

With a small sigh and her shoulders slumped slightly, Lily turned and walked back to the house. It was stifling hot in there and she felt so closed in, but her mum made her promise to come back inside after only half an hour. Her time was up.

A small sound just outside the gate stopped Lily's walk. She turned slowly and peered outside with a suspicious gaze. The sound reminded Lily of when Albus was hurt in a game of Quidditch a few days ago.

She looked around, but unable to see anything, turned to head back inside again.

There! Lily focused her eyes on a small bush covered in white snow a few metres away from the gate. The sound was coming from that bush; and whoever was making the sound was in pain.

Lily glanced at the house, but like her father would have done, she threw all risk to the wind and dashed out through the gate. If someone was hurt, she wanted to help.

"Lily Luna Potter!" Lily heard her mother yell, but Lily ignored her and knelt down next to the bush.

Her knees were instantly soaked, but she ignored that as well. Pushing away a few of the branches she found a curled up form shivering in the snow with a large red mark staining the fur on its front leg. A young dog. A small one, but probably only because it was a puppy.

Lily reached a hand forward, only to flinch back when the puppy growled at her.

"Shh," Lily said, lying on the ground to show she meant no harm. "It's okay."

Lily reached forward again and this time the puppy let her, though it watched her every movement very carefully. Lily moved her hand in front of the puppy's nose, letting it have a good sniff, before moving her hand to its back, being very careful to avoid touching the obvious wound.

"Lily Lun—"

"Shh!" Lily hissed at her mother, staring at the dog which had started growling again.

"Oh," her mother said when she caught sight of the dog. "Maybe you should come away from it. It looks dangerous."

"It's not dangerous," Lily dismissed without looking up. "It's just scared and hurt."

Lily shifted until she was sitting up, not moving her hand away from the puppy. Its ears pulled back but it didn't growl. Lily moved her hands around the dog, talking to it the whole time. "I'm just going to pick you up, it's okay."

"Lily," her mother warned, but Lily continued to ignore her.

"Shh, there you go." Lily very gentle picked the puppy up, noting his gender as she did. When he didn't react other than to stiffen, Lily moved him close to her body, sharing her body heat with the small creature. "That's better, isn't it?"

Lily turned and looked up to her mother. "Can we look after him?"

Her mum hesitated. She moved forward to have a look at the puppy, but he growled at her and she moved away while Lily whispered reassurances to him.

"I don't know. It seems pretty wild. It could hurt you or your brothers."

"It won't," Lily snapped. "I already told you that it's just scared. Please, we have to."

Her mum hesitated again, but finally nodded her head. "Fine, but we have to be careful, okay? I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Lily nodded, already knowing that the small puppy wouldn't hurt her.

* * *

"What's this?"

Lily turned to look at her dad when he came home, smiling at his gobsmacked look. "This is Justin." Lily thought about that name and shook her head. "No, Justin's not right."

Albus snorted from the couch, away from the puppy. "It's a stupid name."

Lily shot a glare at her brother, but she couldn't help agreeing. Justin definitely wasn't right. She looked down at the puppy. Now that all the snow was cleared away, Lily could tell that the puppy's fur was almost as white as the snow, only a little darker thanks to the dirt covering it. She had no idea what breed it was, but she definitely wanted to figure it out.

"Why is there a dog in our house?" her dad said. He'd arrived home late and exhausted like he'd been for the last couple of days (Christmas excluded of course) and Lily was starting to worry. When she asked about it, her mum just said it was something with work.

"It's a puppy," Lily insisted. She was almost sure that the dog was only a few months old at most.

"Okay," her dad moved forward, but the puppy tensed and growled at him so he stopped walking.

"Sorry," Lily said. "He's a little nervous."

"Nervous?" James said from the kitchen. He'd refused to come into the room with the puppy since he'd been barked at. "That dog is more suspicious of strangers than Dad is."

Her dad shot James a glare and Lily giggled. James did have a point, though. The puppy would only let Lily near him; not even her mum, who only wanted to heal its leg.

"Lily?"

Lily explained what happened this morning, and after a quick scolding for leaving the yard without permission, her dad knelt down, lying on his stomach like Lily had earlier.

"It's a cute thing," her dad said, laying his head to the side and starting a staring contest with the animal. The puppy won, of course, but when her dad chuckled and reached out for it, the puppy allowed it.

"How did you—"

"Padfoot gave me some tips when I told him dogs didn't like me," her dad said before her mum could finish.

Lily looked at her dad like he was crazy, as did Albus, though James looked vaguely sad. Her mum, who also looked sad, nodded. _I thought Padfoot was just a story,_ Lily thought, but she brushed it away when her dad waved his wand over the dog, healing the wound in seconds.

"Thanks Dad," Lily said, throwing her arms around his neck.

"So, can we keep him?" Lily asked, throwing a hopeful grin at her parents.

"I don't know," her mum said, eyeing the dog carefully.

"Come on, Gin, it'll be fine."

Albus, Lily could see out of the corner of her eye, was nodding his head, and even James was smiling at the thought. Only their mum was unsure, but under the hopeful looks of her family, she gave in.

"Fine, but you look after him, Lily."

"Of course," Lily said, jumping up to hug her mum. "Now all I need is a name."

* * *

Almost a week since Lily had found the puppy, she still didn't have a name for him. Albus had taken to calling it Puppy, as had her dad, but Lily was determined to find the right name for him. Nothing seemed right, though.

The puppy was a lot more active than that first day. After a large meal which the puppy scoffed down, a nice long drink, and a warm bed to sleep in for the night, the puppy seemed to wake up. It bounced around Lily's legs wherever she went, and would even take to following her dad in the evenings after she'd fallen asleep. When the puppy was ready to sleep, he would retreat to Lily's room and curl up on the ground by the foot of her bed.

After two nights of this, his bed was moved from the living room to Lily's so he had a nice place to sleep through the night. A soft blanket was placed in the living room, though the puppy was more likely to curl up on the couch than the blanket.

Everyone was falling in love with the puppy, though James and her mum were still wary around it and the puppy wasn't much better. It hadn't growled at them, but always seemed nervous when they were around. Lily suspected that the puppy didn't like loud noises, and between James' yelling around the house, and Mum yelling at James, it was no surprise he didn't really like them.

She didn't blame the puppy, if she was honest.

Lily looked after the puppy like it was her child, and the puppy did the same back. One afternoon, while Lily was on the floor, she spilt juice on her hand. The puppy licked it off, and then looked at Lily like he was scolding her.

The only place the puppy wouldn't follow Lily was outside, and again, Lily didn't blame him. When they'd found him, he'd been freezing, so it was no wonder that the puppy preferred to be warm. It would sit at the back door, watching Lily as she played outside and then sit with Lily when she came inside, almost like he was trying to warm her up like Lily had done for him.

* * *

It was raining. Even Lily didn't like going out in the rain. James was being a prat about it, and he ended up setting off a small firework that sounded like thunder in her room this morning to inform her of just what the weather was like. He'd scared her poor puppy onto her bed, and it was only by lunchtime that he'd calmed down again.

"Lily?"

"What, James?"

Lily was currently curling into the couch trying to read with Puppy curled up against one side. She kept glancing outside only to see more rain. When James entered the room, her puppy had jumped off the couch and retreated to his blankets. He'd been doing that all morning.

James glanced at the puppy with guilt before turning to Lily with the same guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry about this morning, okay?"

Lily stared at James for a few minutes. It wouldn't be the first time James had apologised for something, only to laugh at her afterwards. This time, though, there seemed to be no prank or amusement in his eyes. He kept glancing to the puppy in the corner, and Lily realised he actually felt guilty about starting the puppy the whole family was sure had been hurt by its previous owner.

She smiled at James. "Apology accepted," Lily said, patting the seat next to her. "Your timing is actually perfect. Could you help me understand some of these words?" Lily was a brilliant reader, the whole family was actually, but she was still only young and she still struggled with a few words and their meanings.

"Sure," James dropped next to Lily and looked at the book.

Lily was about to point out the words when an evil idea occurred to her. James would hate it, but it would be payback in the best possible way.

"Thanks James," Lily said, pressed a long wet kiss onto his cheek.

James pulled away with a yell only to see Lily laughing at him. "Oh, you want to play it that way?" James launched at Lily, tickling her mercilessly.

Lily screeched at the attack, batting James hands away, but she stopped when James let out a cry of fear.

"James? Oh my—No! Bad puppy! Mum!"

James was pulled off the couch by his leg, the puppy's teeth clenched onto the fabric, growling and snarling. James was fighting like his life depended on it, and the puppy looked ready to hurt him. James shook his captured leg, but the puppy only snarled louder, so he pulled his free leg back to kick the puppy away.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Lily wasn't sure if she was yelling at the puppy or James. She screamed when the puppy still didn't let go and looked like he was going to attack James in a more dangerous way.

"Mum!"

Her mum, who must have been outside because she would have appeared straight away if she'd been in the house, didn't even think for a moment when she did arrive, shooting a stunner at the puppy. He fell limply to his side, releasing James who scrambled away.

"Let me see," her mum demanded. She rolled up James' pant leg and breathed a sigh of relief when it was shown the puppy hadn't broken the skin.

When Lily saw that James was okay, she started towards the puppy, only to be stopped by her mum.

"He could be hurt," Lily said, trying to push past her mum.

"I don't care! That dog is dangerous and as soon as your father comes home, we will be discussing what to do with it, because it will _not_ be staying here anymore."

"No!"

"Lily! It attacked your brother."

Lily flinched at the reminder, but she stood her ground. "He thought James was hurting me," Lily said desperately.

" _No!_ I knew from the beginning this dog was bad news. Next time it could attack you or Albus, and it could be deadly! I will not have a dangerous animal living in our house and _that's final!_ "

Lily stared at her mum through the tears in her eyes. She looked at her puppy, so peaceful at the moment. He'd grown since she found him; gained some weight and height, but he was still a puppy. She could see, to an extent, where her mum was coming from. He was probably big enough to injure a full grown adult now, but he was still a puppy. He was her puppy.

"I'll never forgive you," Lily hissed, turning back to her mum.

Her mum flinched back at the venom in Lily's voice, but Lily refused to feel guilty. "Go to your room!" her mum yelled, throwing her hand out to point in the direction of her room.

Lily didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

Lily sulked in her room for the rest of the day, only coming out when she heard her dad come home. She listened to their conversation, and she was happy to hear her dad fight for the puppy, but in the end, he agreed with her mum. Lily clenched her hands and stormed back into her room.

When her dad came up to give her some dinner, she ignored him.

"I know you're upset, but this is for the best. You know he was treated badly by people that loved him, maybe he just couldn't recover."

Lily couldn't help but answer to that. "Just because someone is treated badly, doesn't mean they're bad. Why is it different for dogs?"

Lily's dad closed his eyes and when he opened them again, there was something a little dark in them, almost like on the rare occasion when he talked about the previous war.

"It doesn't, but the puppy attacked James. That tells us that he might be too traumatised by his first owners to live with us."

Lily's eyes watered again and she turned her back on her dad. "I thought you of all people would understand," she muttered.

"Oh, Lils—"

"No! Get out!" Lily snapped, shrugging his hand off her shoulder.

Her dad sighed before leaving her room without another word; the soft sound on the door shutting telling Lily he was gone. She waited until she heard his footsteps retreat down the stairs before sitting up. She had work to do.

* * *

Lily had a bag packed and her shoes ready to go. She knew she had to do this tonight, but waiting until everyone was asleep was essential. She couldn't be caught before she left the house, not if she wanted this to work.

She shifted on her bed when her eyes drooped again; pinching herself when moving did nothing. When that still did nothing, Lily stood and walked around for a minute and that seemed to wake her up.

Her brothers had already gone to bed, but her mum and dad were still awake and talking. She couldn't hear any definite words, but the low murmur of their voices told her they were still awake. Lily hoped they went to sleep soon, otherwise everything would be ruined.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard her parent's footsteps ascending the stairs. Knowing they would probably look in on her, she scrambled into bed and closed her eyes to pretend to sleep. The door creaked open a second later.

"—made a mistake." her mum whispered as she entered.

Lily clenched her eyes and bit her lip to prevent her yelling at her mum. It wasn't a mistake to take Puppy in.

"We'll deal with it."

They closed the door a second later and Lily breathed a sigh of relief. She decided to lay in bed for a few more minutes to make sure her parents were asleep before starting her plan. _I'll only close my eyes for a second._

* * *

Lily woke to a knock on the door.

"Lily? Do you want to come out and eat something?"

Lily rubbed her eyes and looked around her room. When she spotted the small bag and her shoes by the door, she remembered everything from last night, and she knew she blew it. She started to cry.

"Oh, Lils." Her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Lily let him, needing to feel her dad's special brand of comfort. She cried into his shoulder before pulling away and rubbing her eyes.

"Lily, your mum and I wanted to talk to you this morning."

"Later," Lily said, pleading with her eyes. "I want to go outside for a bit."

Her dad hesitated, but in the end nodded. "Just be careful," he said like he always did when she went outside.

Lily nodded and waited until her dad was gone to get dressed. She threw on her shoes and walked to the kitchen, but her mum stopped her.

"Not through that way. We've put the puppy in there."

Lily's eyes darkened but she was too depressed to argue, slipping out the front door and going around the house to the back. She could see her puppy sleeping on the blankets that were once in the living room and she could see a slight blue shimmer around the dog. He was well contained, and Lily knew she wouldn't have been able to free the puppy last night even if she had stayed awake.

Turning away, she was about to head towards a tree when she spotted two figures outside the gate. One was slumped over, an arm wrapped around his middle. He was wearing what looked like rags and underneath the rags, Lily could see some pretty vicious wounds.

The other man had Lily backing away from the pair. He held himself tall with wild hair and eyes on the brink of insanity. One of his hands were clenched on the other man's shoulder, and the other held a wand pointed right between her eyes.

As she stared, the wards around their house seemed to part, letting the man in. The wards were usually invisible unless something disturbed them. Then, they were a pale green colour. Her Uncle Ron always lamented the fact that strongest wards were green, but Lily found the colour surprisingly suitable.

"Lily Potter," the man cackled, moving forward and dropping the injured man in the same movement. "Come here."

Lily did no such thing. "Mum! Dad!" She turned to run back to the house, but an unseen force caught her and dragged her back. She screamed and thrashed in the hold, but nothing would break it.

She saw the back door open and her parents come out with their faces a mask of horror and fear. They raised their wands, but before they had the chance to cast anything, a white blur bolted past with a vicious snarl, latching onto the wild man's arm.

The man howled in pain, dropping the spell holding Lily and directing his wand at the puppy, but he couldn't seem to aim properly to avoid his arm and hit the puppy. He shook his arm to try and dislodge the puppy, but he held firm, snarling with every shake.

Lily's mum grabbed Lily around the middle and dragged her backwards away from the fight, but she didn't force Lily inside, too worried about leaving her dad alone, probably.

The attacker was starting to get desperate, that much was certain. His face was contorted in pain and he'd even dropped his wand to try and physically pull the puppy off, but the puppy still didn't budge. It wasn't until Lily's dad sent a stunner spell at the man, did the puppy let go.

"He really was protecting her," James said from inside with Albus standing just behind him.

Lily couldn't move. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before and she was shaking. Her mum approached her and pulled her close while her dad moved towards the attacker, keeping his wand up just in case.

The puppy was still beside the man, watching him like he expected the man to leap up and attack again, but he didn't. The puppy let her dad past, who went and checked on the unconscious man before returning with a pained expression. Lily didn't want to think about what that meant.

He approached the man again, giving the puppy a quick glance, but the puppy backed away when her dad needed the room. Only when the man was tied with rope did the puppy leave his guard and approach Lily and her mum.

Other than tensing slightly, tightening her arms around Lily, she let the puppy approach. She watched, amazed, as the dog sat in front of Lily and nudged her hand. Lily happily pet the puppy like it was asking.

"I told you he was just protecting me."

Her dad turned around at that point. "Go inside and call Ron over."

Her mum nodded, picking Lily up and holding her close. "Come on," she said, moving forward. She started when the puppy hopped up as well and walked forward right towards James who flinched away.

The puppy stood in front of James before lowering himself onto his stomach and rolling over.

"I think he's trying to apologise, James."

James shot Lily a wary glance before turning that look towards the puppy. He carefully lowered himself to the dog's level and reaching a hand out. Puppy, who use to move away from James whenever he tried pet him, moved forward like he was asking James to pet him. James' face lit up.

"I think he understands now," Lily said, wriggling out of her mum's arms and scooping the puppy up. Surprisingly, her mum didn't try and stop her, and when Lily turned around to ask her why, her mum had a hand covering her mouth in surprise.

"L-let's go inside," her mum stuttered, glancing behind her at the man still unconscious on the ground.

Lily didn't argue, wanting to be away from the man, and for once, in the warmth of her house. She carried the puppy inside, but once she stepped into the kitchen, she stopped because of the barrier that would prevent the puppy from leaving.

Without saying a word, Lily saw her mum wave the barrier away, and Lily shot her mum a bright smile.

They all retreated to the living room where her mum contacted Uncle Ron and asked him to come over. Then, they could do nothing but wait.

* * *

They'd been waiting for hours. Lily was reading another book, though her gaze continued to switch between her mum, the puppy and the fireplace. Her dad had left with Uncle Ron to arrest the man properly and make sure he was processed. The other man, the one that had been hurt, had unfortunately died during the attack on Lily.

Lily tried to forget about the fact that she saw that man's last moments.

After her mum had made sure she wasn't hurt—which she wasn't—she'd sat on the couch and closed her eyes. Occasionally a tear slipped past, but her mum was mostly still otherwise.

There was a small struggle between James and Albus, but it was really only to pass the time. James was ecstatic and wanted to be running up the walls, but he recognised the seriousness of the situation and was entertaining himself with annoying Albus.

Albus kept glancing at Lily like she was going to disappear if he wasn't careful. Lily and Albus were very close, they all were really, but Lily and Albus created a collective front against their prank-pulling older brother, so he's probably pretty freaked out about all that'd happened. James would be too if the puppy hadn't accepted him right after.

The fireplace flared to life and all of the occupants in the room, including the puppy, jump up to stare. Their dad walked through, running a hand through his hair when he spotted them all.

"I suppose you all want some questions answered," he stated rather than asked. Apparently, that was permission for the flood gates to be opened, at least for the children.

"Who was that man?"

"Why did he come here?"

"What happened with the puppy?"

"Is the house even safe anymore?"

"How did he get through the wards?"

"Are we keeping the puppy now?"

"Was he trying to kill Lily or just use her?"

"Alright! That is enough. Your father is obviously exhausted and scared. He will try and answer all your questions, but mine comes first."

Lily wanted to argue with her mum—she wasn't going to ask about the puppy—but then she saw her mum's face and decided not to say anything. Her mum was also looking extremely tired and scared.

"Are we safe?"

Lily's dad grabbed her mum's hand and smiled at her. "Yes. He wasn't working with anyone and he can't escape where he's locked up at the moment."

Her mum breathed a sigh of relief. She paused for a moment with her eyes closed and seemed to be trying to compose herself, but when she opened her eyes, they were shining in anger.

"Explain what happened today."

Her dad sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leading their mum to the couch and sitting down next to her.

"We've been searching for a man who had been killing people seemingly at random. He's been killing for a few weeks and we hadn't been able to find any leads on him. We've only just realised that all the people that were killed had some experience with wards. House wards to be specific. He wanted to break through our house wards and seek revenge against me for my achievements when I was younger."

Lily gasped at that. She'd always thought her dad was too protective of them, even complaining on occasion, but it seemed it wasn't completely irrational. Is it paranoia when everyone _is_ trying to kill you?

"The man that died was a highly skilled house warder, and he'd been, well, that doesn't matter. Anyway, they managed to break through our wards and the rest you saw."

"Have the wards been fixed?" James asked, showing his intelligence for once.

"Not yet. I put basic ones that should be fine for the night, and I've asked a few of the new recruits to be on guard duty. When Bill arrives home tomorrow, I'll ask him to fix them properly. We are safe, I promise," their dad said, looking at them all in the eye.

There was silence in the room, until a small whine reminded them all of the puppy present. A puppy that, just yesterday, was being sent away.

Lily started petting the puppy again before turning to her parents. "What about him?" she asked in a small voice.

Her mum and dad shared a glance before turning back to Lily.

"We discussed this a bit last night, and I think we were both a little hasty about kicking the puppy out. He didn't hurt James, though he was very vicious. We were thinking we would try and train that out of him. If it didn't work before February, the puppy would go, but after today, well."

When her dad didn't continue, her mum started speaking with surprising confidence.

"After today, that dog isn't going anywhere."

Lily squealed and jumped on her parents, hugging around their neck in a tight embrace. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Her parents chuckled and hugged her back before looking at James.

"As long as you're okay with this," their dad said.

James nodded without a moment's hesitation. "He liked me now," he said with a smile.

"So, is it going to be called 'Puppy' for the rest of its life."

"Nope," Lily said, smiling down at the puppy. "His name is Leo."

No one argued. It was the perfect name.

* * *

(w.c 4,979)

WolfWinks-xx-


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